Barn-themed Puyallup playground has music, climbing rocks. Here’s when it opens
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- Puyallup schedules ribbon-cutting Oct. 30 for 6,880-square-foot barn-themed playground.
- Playground features slides, musical instruments and climbing boulders across two age zones
- Project cost about $1 million; state grant covered $500,000. ADA path added after feedback
Puyallup is getting a new barn-themed playground this week.
According to a Facebook post from Puyallup’s Parks and Recreation department, the playground will be available to the public after a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 30 at 4 p.m.
The 6,880-square-foot playground is located in Van Lierop Park, tucked in a corner between two parking lots at 3401 Eighth Ave. SE. It has slides, musical features and boulders to climb. The playground has two main structures: one for children between 2 and 5 years old, and one for children between 5 and 12.
According to a news release from the city, the cost of this playground is about $1 million, with $500,000 covered by a State Recreation and Conservation Office grant. The project is an action item of the Van Lierop master plan, a guide for the long-term vision of the park as it is developed over the coming years.
The city’s parks and recreation director, Cody Geddes, said the barn theme “harkens back to the agricultural history of the Van Lierop property.”
“From what we heard from the public, people like the historic ties to the farms that existed at Van Lierop, so preserving that history with the farm-themed play structures and ensuring the view of Mt Rainier was kept intact was very important,” Geddes said in the release.
Crews first broke ground on the playground in April, but the opening was delayed from June to October because of new additions.
“In response to feedback, the City has added a poured-in-place rubber surface pathway to the playground,” Geddes said in the release. “This will allow users to access the main play structures, musical amenities, and musical instruments.”
Geddes encouraged citizens to keep giving their thoughts on the playground.
“At the end of the day, this playground is for our community. If the community tells us we missed the mark on an aspect of the playground, then we want to know that and make adjustments to correct it,” Geddes said in the release. “That way, when the playground opens this fall, it will be worth the wait.”
Residents can contact Geddes at cgeddes@puyallupwa.gov.
News Tribune archives contributed to this story.
